Ten Little Kittens
by Madcinder
Summary: Ritsu throws a party to celebrate the graduation of Azusa, Ui, and Jun in the Light Music Club. Things take a turn for the worse when someone is murdered, and all the school's doors are locked. A mysterious poem is left on the door by the killer, outlining how the rest will die. Sorta crack-horror. Not to be taken seriously. Now, there is one.
1. Ten Little Kittens

Our story begins on a night like any other night, but this night would end unlike any other. It starts in a school, in a club room, where the friends of the Light Music Club were gathered in celebration, as three of the girls had just graduated into college. Several extra tables had been set up for the occasion. The happy chatter of friends talking filled the room with a backdrop of a sweet melody of cat noises produced by Tsumugi Kotobuki and her keyboard next to the door.

At one of the tables Jun Suzuki and Mio Akiyama were talking. The younger bassist was broaching an uncomfortable subject for the both of them. "So, uh, you think my breasts could get that big?" Mio shook her head, just glad Jun was being quiet. Jun pressed further. "I mean, you know, with time?"

Mio kept shaking her head. "No. No, I don't- no."

Jun looked away, somewhat miffed. "Alright..."

Not far off, Nodoka Manabe was standing next to the closet door when it opened and Azusa Nakano stepped out. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Nodoka spoke. "Oh my god, did you literally just come out of the closet?"

Azusa lowered her voice. "I was just getting these cat ears. That's all."

Nodoka looked at Azusa's new set of cat ears stick up off her head. "Why?"

Azusa shrugged. "I figured it's a special occasion, so why not?"

Nodoka shook her head. "At least you have good grades. Otherwise you'd be a definite neet."

Elsewhere, Akira Wada yawned as she leaned back in a chair. Yui Hirasawa sat down beside her, greeting her cheerfully. "Hello, Akira!"

Akira lazily looked over to Yui. "Oh, hi, Yui."

Ui Hirasawa sat down on Akira's other side, her hair let down in a way that made her look identical to Yui. "Hello, Akira."

Akira quickly looked between the two. "What the fuck? Ritsu, I thought you said no plus ones."

Ritsu Tainaka turned from where she was standing and yelled at her bandmate. "Yui, I said no plus ones!"

Yui gave a thoughtful look. "Do clones count as plus ones?"

Ritsu frowned. "Ui's not a clone, Yui."

Ui stood up regardless. "She's right. I shouldn't stay here much longer. I have a flight to catch." While Ui was very much one of them, she shouldn't have been there because she had a flight taking her to the college she had applied for in London.

As Ui made her way to the door, Sachi Hayashi and Ayame Yoshida were discussing the future of their band, among other things. Or at least Sachi was trying to talk about them. Ayame was trying to keep her voice down and raise it at the same time. "Can we talk about this later."

"Later?" Sachi was just trying not to freak out about something they had recently found out. "When, like after Akira dies and apparently leaves all her belongings to you, and all I get is a fluffy bunny? You don't even know how to play a guitar."

Ayame scratched her head. "Yeah, right. Like that'll be what I'm thinking about when my best friend dies. ...I really wanted that bunny."

Sachi shook her head. "You know what? I changed my mind. I'm going to enjoy the shit out of that bunny."

And Akira could totally hear everything they were saying.

In a room of ten girls, Ritsu cleared her throat. "Nodoka?"

Nodoka nodded and stepped to the front of the room. Ritsu handed her a glass of some bubbly drink, and they clinked their glasses together. As Ritsu sat back down, Nodoka was about to speak when she realized Tsumugi was still playing. "Uh, Maestro?"

Ritsu shouted across the room. "Damn it, Mugi! That means stop!"

Mugi made a pouting face, holding down as many keys at once as she could. Regardless, she quickly came out from behind her keyboard and sat down at one of the tables. Ritsu nodded to Nodoka, indicating that she was now free to speak.

Nodoka cleared her throat once Mugi was seated. "Alright, first of all, thank you all for coming. Moving along quickly, is everyone in their assigned seats?" She waited for everyone to confirm that they were indeed sitting where they were supposed to. "Good, now if you'll all look under your chairs, there are envelopes for you. I'd like you to open them all up."

Everyone reached under their chairs to find, indeed, there were envelopes waiting for their hands to grab hold. They started opening the envelopes, most merely intrigued, but a few were excited.

Jun tore into hers. "Oh sweet! What is it, money?"

Ritsu started laughing, but quickly shot down the hope. "Ha ha, yeah... no." Ritsu slid out her envelope's contents to find it was a photograph. A very incriminating photograph. "Nodoka, what the hell is this?"

At the same time, Jun and Azusa were reacting pretty much the same way. Nodoka nodded. "This is justice. That's right, look upon your sins." Akira and Sachi also got upset quite quickly after opening their envelopes.

Mio took a moment to look over the paper that was in her envelope, then turned it around to show it to Nodoka. "Uh, yeah, this is just a bunch of dick doodles."

Ayame jumped up. "Oh, that's where it went!"

Nodoka reached into her pocket and pulled out another envelope. "Shit, I knew I had one extra." She handed it to Mio, and then went back to her spot at the front of the room. "Right, anyway... You all got blood on your hands, and now you're all going to pay." Yui and Mugi gasped at the contents of their envelopes.

Mio opened the replacement, and too one look at the paper before tossing it onto the table in front of her. "Yeah, more dick doodles."

Ayame jumped up to get the paper. "Oh, that's mine too." Mio facepalmed.

Jun set her envelope down and pointed her finger accusingly at Nodoka. "That's not fair. Ton-chan was an accident, the fork slipped, Azusa acquitted me, you're not allowed to talk about that."

Ayame piped up. "Yeah, and Chiyo died for science. That's like, one of the top three or four ways to die."

Nodoka waved her hand at them. "Yeah, I don't care why you did it. The point is, I'm going to get filthy rich from turning you all in. So fuck you." She flipped her middle finger at Ritsu, who returned the gesture. "Fuck you." She repeated the process with Jun, who also responded in kind. "And fuck you." She finished off with Akira, who sent it back in double.

Azusa stood up. "Now, wait a minute. What's to stop us from just killing you and burning the body."

Nodoka reached into her pocket and produced a gun. "Well, first of all, I have this." The reaction was unanimous around the room. No one had seen it coming, and no one was having an easy time believing what was happening to begin with. Nodoka continued. "And second of all, while all of you have killed, only one of you is guilty of coldblooded murder." She took a drink from her glass. "And if that person tries to kill me..." And then she started choking. She tried to say more, but all that came out was more choking.

Ritsu interjected. "We can't understand you. Stop choking so we can understand you." But instead of stopping choking, Nodoka collapsed.

"Nodoka!" Yui jumped up and ran to her friend's side. "Nodoka, no!" She tried to help Nodoka, who had her hands at her throat and the gun still in her hand. "Nodoka, get the gun away from yourse- not me!" She batted the gun away, sending it to the floor. Nodoka flopped flat on the ground suddenly, and a moment later Yui stood up. "She's properly dead! Ritsu, you killed her!"

Ritsu jumped out of her seat. "What? No!"

Yui pointed to the glass standing beside her. "But you gave her the drink!"

Ritsu rushed over and picked up the drink. "Yeah, but look at the glass. There's... uh... okay, there's nothing there."

Mugi observed. "It was probably poisoned by the real killer!"

Akira stood up. "Well, whatever. Let's get out of here before anything else happens."

"Good idea!" Ritsu led the charge for the door.

Nine girls ran through the halls of the school, heading for the front door. When they arrived, however, they found it locked.

Azusa struggled with the door a moment longer. "Shit, we're trapped! We're trapped with the killer!" She started freaking out, grabbing and shaking Mio in her panic.

Ritsu pushed in between them, having spotted something stuck on the door. "Hey, what's this?" It was a neatly printed poem on a piece of paper. She read the title of the poem out loud. "Ten Little Kittens? Mio, what did I tell you about hanging your poetry on the walls?"

Mio shook her head. "Hey, my songs are beautiful, and that's not mine."

Ritsu took a closer look. "What?" She shoved Azusa out of the way and inspected the poem closer. "Uh oh. This looks like some kind of ominous omen for the rest of the evening."

Without warning, the lights in the school went out. There was screaming, and there was thumping, and there was running. And when the light returned, Azusa found herself alone in front of the door. She glanced around, looking for any sign of the others. There was no one. Not a sight, and not a sound.

"Are you frightened?" She spoke to herself. "Yes." She answered herself. "Not nearly frightened enough." She berated herself. "I know what hunts you." And then she stopped. "Stop talking to yourself. That's why no one likes you. Maybe if you stopped talking to yourself, people might like you." She shuffled off to see if she could find a way to escape.

* * *

"Down the dark halls of the school, late at night, as the trapped girls rushed about trying to find a way to escape or at least defend themselves, the poem hung in the air. It taunted them, threatened them, and haunted them. It followed their every move, making them look over their shoulders. It clung to their clothes, making them squirm in terror. The words rang throughout the school.

**_"Ten little kittens here to have a good time. One tried to leave, so then there was nine."_**

We see Nodoka's body still laid out on the floor of the clubroom, the glass and gun left on the floor beside her.

**_"Nine little kittens trying to escape. One put it off, and then there were eight."_**

Jun slowly walked down beside the rows of lockers, stopping at every isle to look every direction repeatedly.

**_"Eight little kittens, two lives now given. One fell, asleep, and then there were seven."_**

Akira closed the janitor's closet door behind her, then suppressed a yawn. She was starting to wish she hadn't woken up early that morning.

**_"Seven little kittens, one always so rich. One was cut short, and then there were six."_**

Ayame bolted though the halls as fast as possible. She knew the killer couldn't catch her if she was too fast.

**_"Six little kittens, one standing too high. One choked on jealousy, and then there were five."_**

Sachi poked her head into a classroom. Seeing it was empty, she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

**_"Five little kittens, one frightened of gore. One hit too hard, and then there were four."_**

Mio sat in a corner, huddled into a ball, shivering violently. She had to make herself as small as possible.

**_"Four little kittens, one drinking tea. One made burned sweets, and then there were three."_**

Mugi found herself returning to the scene of the crime. (Well, one of them. (Okay, two, if you count the thing with Ton-chan)) She proceeded to prepare some tea.

**_"Three little kittens, a killer still loose. One got revenge, and then there were two."_**

Yui was in the washroom. It was the first place she had gone, as she had realized she needed to go the moment the lights went out.

**_"Two little kittens, the killer not yet done. One took a left, and then there was one."_**

Ritsu walked up the stairs, step by step getting closer to someone's back. She held her hands around her eyes mimicking binoculars.

**_"One kitten remains, still standing tall. The killer, it seemed, had died last of all."_**

Azusa turned around, a frown on her face, glaring down the stairs at her stalker."

Azusa gave Ritsu a weird look. "Why were you on me for that killer line?"

Ritsu stopped. "Uh... no reason."

* * *

"And so, our story begins like any other night, but it will end with a night of terror. And so our story begins with ten little kittens running through the halls, having been lured into a trap under the pretense of a friendly party. Who is the killer? That, dear reader, is up to you to figure out."

Azusa stopped and turned around again. "God damn it! Stop narrating, Ritsu!"


	2. And Then There Were Nine

Jun found her way into a different clubroom. She was sure this one belonged to the carpentry club or something. It looked the part anyway. She ran up to one of the work shelves and started sorting through the tools and materials laid out before her. Her hands grabbed some tools, pulling the trigger to check the nail gun for nails and swinging the hammer to feel it's weight. She was sure she could work with this.

Then she heard the click of a gun from behind her. She turned, lowering her weapons. "So it's you. Ritsu."

Ritsu stepped into the light. "No. I'm not the killer."

Jun nodded at the other's weapon. "Why do you have the gun?"

Ritsu reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, putting them on as she answered. "Because I'm..." She reached into her pocket and produced another item. A badge. "An undercover cop. Yeah, that's right. I've been on the trail of this murderer for months. See, the night my brother was killed by the murderer, I made him a promise. He was laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and he said, 'Ritsu, I'm dying.' and I said, 'I know.' and he said, 'Ritsu, call me an ambulance.' and I said, 'Ehh...'. Yeah, cause I don't know if you remember this or not, but I lost my cellphone months before we went to college."

Jun nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember that. Mio told me. She called me with your phone."

Ritsu continued. "Yeah, anyway, my brother died, but before he died, he said, 'Ritsu... I need you to... avenge me...' and I said, 'Now that I can do.'. I sorta hatched my plan back then. I call it Operation: Murder Banquet Under A Giant Glass Dome."

Jun looked around them. "Is there a glass dome outside the school? Because other than that, I'm liable to just believe that you think the stratosphere is made of glass."

Ritsu gave a sheepish look. "They, uh... they cut my budget. Apparently you're not allowed to use drug bust money for funding personal vendettas."

Jun held up her hands, trying to get something clear. "Wait, so Nodoka was just...?"

Ritsu nodded, glad Jun was catching on. "Ah, she was an actor. Yeah. A payed chump that I hired."

Jun looked surprised. "So, Nodoka's not really dead."

"Oh no, yeah, she's dead. She's dead."

Jun made a face. "So... you're solution to catching the killer was to lock her in here with nine potential victims?"

Ritsu waved her off. "Hey, I got this. I don't need your feedback. This is a plan in motion. Things are gonna happen, but I got this."

Jun grumbled, half turning back to the work shelf. "Easy for you to say. You're practically guaranteed to survive."

Ritsu snorted. "Yeah, not really. Remember, the killer is probably out for me. I could die at any time. I could die the shit out of a death."

Jun crossed her arms. "Wait a minute, so was that poem you as well?"

Ritsu put her gun away. "What, that? No, that was the real killer. My penmanship is terrible."

Jun narrowed her eyes at the older girl. "Sure... Well, good luck finding the killer."

Ritsu nodded and turned to head off. "Yeah, good luck surviving. See you later."

* * *

Walking down the hallway alone, Yui stopped when she suddenly heard the high-pitched notes of a keyboard. Poking her head into the nearest classroom, she saw Mugi fiddling with her keyboard, standing on top of the teacher's desk. Yui stepped in curiously. "Mugi, what are you doing?"

Mugi looked delighted to see Yui. "Oh, I'm glad you heard my distress signal. Quick, get off the floor."

"Why?" Yui gasped. "Are we pretending it's lava?"

Mugi smiled innocently. "No, we're pretending it's covered in scorpions, snakes, and spiders!"

Yui didn't look too interested. "Why would we pretend that?"

"Because it is."

Yui looked down to see a big fat ol' scorpion crawling towards her foot. "Eeek!" She jumped up on one of the desks. "Why?!"

Mugi puffed up her cheeks. "I accidentally let all the poisonous animals out of Miss Yamanaka's office. I managed to contain the jellyfish and the blue-ringed octopus, but let the cobra, scorpions, and spiders get away."

Yui seemed to be thinking very hard about Mugi's explanation. "Why didn't you focus on those ones instead?"

Mugi gave her a look like Yui should have known this. "Um, because Jellyfish are poisonous as shit."

Yui whined. "But they can't do anything on the land..."

Mugi sat down on the desk. "Look, Yui. I was acting fast. I had very little time to do anything."

Yui looked down, pouting. "I'm sorry. Why were there poisonous animals there anyway? Why couldn't it have been a kitty instead? That would have been so much better." The next moment, Yui was purring to herself and petting an imaginary cat.

* * *

Azusa walked alone down a dark hallway, jumping at every tiny noise. She had determined that, even if they weren't they killer, anyone could decide that now was a good time to take out their frustration on any of the others. She didn't want to end up targeted by any of the others, so she was hoping the night would end as soon as possible.

Unfortunately for her, she started talking to herself. "Okay, Azusa. You got this. You can survive one crazy night of murder. You can make it through this. You just gotta think like Ritsu. Ritsu would tear through this night like a pro. She wouldn't miss a beat. Okay, think, Azusa. What would Ritsu Tainaka do? Yeah, I can do this. I can do this. I got this- holy shit, mousetraps!"

She stopped at the top of the stairs, staring down at several dozen mousetraps set up at the bottom. She looked around, trying to see if anyone was sneaking up on her while she was distracted. She looked back down at the mousetraps once she determined she was alone.

She pulled her foot back from the stairs. "That was close. I could have died right there." Her mind started moving on its own. "...well, I guess it's time. I've been resisting the urge, but... I guess it's time..." She didn't realize it, but her face was starting to look sincerely insane. "...to put on the suit."

Azusa's laughter echoed down the halls.

* * *

Mugi and Yui came through the doors on opposite ends of the classroom, running in opposite directions. Neither of them seemed to notice Mio, who was standing in the hall between the two doors. They disappeared from view before she could call out to them. She was trying to decide which one to go after when she heard a hissing sound from the classroom. All manner of poisonous creature crawled and slithered out of the room through the doors that Mugi and Yui had left open.

She backed herself against the wall, hoping they wouldn't see her. Spiders and scorpions started swarming in her direction, stopping and standing around her feet. One scorpion even crawled on top of her foot before stopping. Mio tried her best not to move, but she was sure she was shaking like an earthquake.

Ayame walked around the corner down the hall, stopping when she saw Mio and the ground crawling with poisonous bugs. "Mio? Wait, hold on right there. I saw a wagon in one of the classrooms. I'll get you out of there." She turned and ran down the hall.

Mio stood still, not moving or speaking, absolutely frozen in fear. Her luck won out. Just as the scorpion moved off of her foot, Ayame came rolling up in front of her on the back of a small red wagon with a handle. Mio hopped into the wagon, with Ayame's assistance, and they then sat in the middle of the hallway in a wagon surrounded by poisonous bugs.

Mio waited a moment before turning to Ayame. "Well, we're on the wagon. Now what?"

Ayame held up her hand to quiet Mio. "Don't sweat it. I got this covered." She reached over her shoulder and pulled a shovel out of the back of her shirt.

Mio's face lightened up. "Are you going to use that to push us to safety?" Her hopeful look vanished when Ayame answered.

"Nope. I'm going to use it to fling them away from us." She punctuated her statement by proving it, scooping up a spider and flinging it down the hallway. Mio watched in horror as various poisonous creatures were flung in all directions away from them. She didn't want to think what would happen if anyone came around the corner.

Thankfully, soon enough, Ayame had cleared the area of danger. Mio looked down the hall in both directions. "While I appreciate what you're doing, don't you think it would have been better if you had sent them all in the same direction?"

Ayame realized what Mio meant. "Oh, yeah, I guess you're right... well, let's just make a run for it then. You go that way and I'll go this way."

They climbed out of the wagon and immediately started running. Mio didn't even look back as she skidded around a corner. She had to stop herself from skidding by putting her hands on a windowsill, which she immediately regretted when she saw the scorpion that had been tossed into the window. It raised its pincers and stinger menacingly at her, to which she responded by letting out a squeaking scream as she pulled away and continued to run down the hall.

* * *

She hadn't seen anyone in a while. Sachi was beginning to wonder if all the others had been killed off already. It seemed like it was too early for that to be the case, but then why hadn't she seen anyone? Maybe, she thought, they thought she was the killer. She didn't know what could make them think that, but she was beginning to have serious doubts about her friends.

Suddenly, there was someone in the hallway with her. It might have been one of her friends, but she couldn't tell in the darkness. She called out to them, whoever they were. "Who's there?" Taking a step closer, she tried taking wild guesses at who she was seeing. "Akira, is that you? Mio? Mugi?"

They were too tall to be Ayame, for sure. She stopped approaching them when she saw that they were wearing a black mask. She took a step back, beginning to fear for her life. The person who she naturally assumed was the killer wearing a mask to disguise themselves just stood there and stared at her. Sachi turned and ran, finding the nearest door and opening it. She shut the door behind her, sitting down and crying by herself in a small closet.

* * *

She ran through the halls all alone, trying not to get tripped up on any of the various items that had been left laying around. There were several mousetraps sitting around at the bottom of a flight of stairs, a wagon sitting around in the hallway, a shovel left leaning against the wall in a classroom. The school had turned into a deathtrap in moments. The worst part was that all the doors were locked, as well as all the windows on the ground floor. There was no escape.

Running to the end of another hallway, she climbed up on the windowsill. Pushing the window open, she saw exactly what she was looking for. There was a tree standing beside the school, and she determined that it was close enough to jump to. She was glad she had picked the third floor, because she wouldn't have had any branches to grab onto if she jumped from the second floor. Closing her eyes, she mentally reassured herself that she could indeed do this. She opened her eyes again, steadying herself with her hands.

Something crawled on top of her hand. Looking down, her eyes went wide at the sight of a scorpion. Screaming and pulling away, she realized her mistake a moment too late. As she fell she wondered if everyone would think she jumped or if they would ever know that she had been pushed out the window by a scorpion.

Ui Hirasawa hit the ground with a loud thud, dying while trying to escape from the school.


	3. And Then There Were Eight

"Sachi. Hey, Sachi."

Sachi looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. It took her a moment to realize that Akira was sitting in the corner of the same closet with her. She jumped up, knocking everything over. The two of them ended up tumbling out into the hall among several brooms and mops. Sachi landed with a bucket sitting on her head. She reached up and quickly pulled it off, seeing Akira trying to untangle herself from brooms. They sat up and looked at each other.

"What are you doing?" Sachi looked at her friend oddly.

Akira returned the look. "What are you doing? Why were you hiding in the closet?"

Sachi looked over at the closet. "I ran into the killer in the hallway, so I hid. Why were you in the closet?"

Akira responded with a yawn. "Well, I was tired, so I was trying to get some rest."

Sachi stood up, reaching down and pulling Akira to her feet. "You can't fall asleep while there's a killer on the loose. You'll be murdered!"

It didn't even occur to her until after Akira waved the warning off and walked away that Akira might have been the killer.

* * *

Yui had been walking in circles for the past half hour. She wasn't sure where she was anymore, other than that she was in the school, and she was beginning to have her doubts about that. She stepped into a classroom, only to see Ritsu sitting at the teacher's desk with her feet up and a shovel laid across her lap.

"Rit-chan? What are you doing?"

Ritsu looked up. "Oh, hey Yui. What am I doing? Well, I figure, since the killer and I have a past they'll probably come after me first. So if I just wait here, the killer will come to me and I'll get the jump on them."

Yui suddenly looked awed. "That's very brave of you, Rit-chan! How are you going to beat them, though?"

"That's easy." Ritsu sat up and reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun. "I've got a hidden advantage that they'll never see coming."

Yui looked amazed. "That's the gun Nodoka had."

Ritsu shook her head. "No, this one's mine. That gun is probably still in the clubroom." She thought for a moment. "I should probably go make sure that's secure, come to think of it. Eh... I'll do it later."

Yui shook off her awe and amazement. "But we need to escape, Rit-chan!"

The young drummer looked up at her friend. "Yui, I don't intend to escape. I'm taking out the killer so that we can all get out of here together."

Yui thought about it for a moment before making her decision. "I think I'm going to just look for a way to escape anyway."

"Whatever, Yui. See you tomorrow, then."

Yui turned and left the room, wandering back out into the halls.

* * *

Mio opened the door to the clubroom just enough so that she could peek in and see if anyone was there. There was no sign of movement. All she could see was Nodoka's body still laying on the floor. She opened the door all the way and stepped in, closing the door behind her. Perhaps she was just too accustomed to the smell, but she didn't even realize that she had been smelling tea until Mugi walked into view from the other door with a cup of tea held over a small saucer.

Mugi smiled, and it didn't escape Mio's notice that the keyboardist was trying not to look down. Mio could understood why. Mugi sat down on the other side of the table, her smiled still faked and her hands shaking a little as she set her cup down and hid her hands under the table.

Mio spoke first. "Why are you in here?"

Mugi finally dropped her smile, quickly trying to hide her face behind the teacup. "I thought... making tea and preparing treats would make me feel more like everything is alright."

Mio saw the problem. "It's not working, is it?" Mugi shook her head. Mio sighed. "You know, I was thinking that if Nodoka was poisoned, there's probably a bottle of poison around here or something like that. I think if we find it we can prevent the killer from using it again on someone else."

Mugi stared down at the table, nodding slightly. "Right... but what if it was all Nodoka? What if she wanted to die?"

Mio seemed to give it some thought. "Interesting idea. I'll check to see if she has the poison on her." Mio knelt down and started searching Nodoka for any sort of poison while Mugi looked around the room from her seat. Mio looked back up to Mugi. "Did you take the gun that was here?"

Mugi looked shocked, as if she was being accused of stealing something. "I wouldn't." She calmed down. "I just got here a little while ago, but I didn't look to see if it was still there. I was here a bit earlier too, and it was there then."

Mio stood up. "That means someone was here in that space of time. Did you happen to see anyone else near here?" Mugi shook her head. "Then we have to assume that the killer has the gun now."

A few moments passed in silence, Mio standing with her eyes closed in thought. Mugi waited a bit before setting her tea down and standing. "We should go find the others and warn them."

Mio looked up at her, then nodded. "You're right, but... just something I noticed. Mugi, is there... a cymbal missing from the drum set?"

Mugi nodded, as there was indeed a cymbal that was simply missing. "And that's not all. A few of the costumes are missing from the closet. Even the cat ears are gone!"

Mio made a face, making her way to the door. "Cat ears? Several costumes missing? That doesn't make sense. Why would anyone..."

* * *

Azusa stood in the middle of the hallway, wearing a maid costume and cat ears. When she had gotten to the clubroom, it had been empty and two of the other costumes had already been taken. She knew full well that those costumes were there before the party started. Now she knew where they had gone.

Those two costumes now served as blankets for Yui, who was now sleeping soundly in a wagon in the middle of the hall. Azusa shook her head and turned to walk away. "Yui-senpai can be really weird sometimes." And away she went, wearing her cat ears.

* * *

Jun spotted something suspicious in the form of someone sneaking through the halls. Readying her nail gun and hammer, she walked up behind the person. She didn't want to be too close to them when she spoke in case she would surprise them, so she stayed on the other side of the hall.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Ayame jumped up and turned around, holding what looked like a can of gasoline and a rope tied into a noose. "Nothing, what are you doing?" A second passed in silence, and then she hid the items behind her back.

Jun held up her hammer threateningly as she backed away. "What are you doing with those?"

Ayame brought the items back into view. "What, these? I was gonna... escape."

Jun made a face. "With gasoline and a noose?"

Ayame nodded. "Yuh."

"How the hell does that work?"

"Well..." Ayame shrugged. "I was just gonna..."

Jun interrupted with the first possible plan of escape she could think of involving those items. "Hang the killer and take the key off their body before burning them to get rid of the evidence?"

Ayame gave her an odd look. "I was gonna try and loop the noose around a tree branch and just swing out to safety, then use the gasoline to fuel a getaway car."

Jun was taken aback. "That's a better idea. We have a getaway car?"

"Yeah, it belongs to Sachi. Uh... maybe I'll need those keys though. Can't really move the car otherwise." She stopped, thinking really hard about her plan. She turned and set the gasoline down. "Fuck it. I'll walk. You wanna come?"

"What, so we can get killed off together? No way. I'm going to go find Azusa, cause she probably knows what she's doing. She's not a total idiot."

As Jun turned and walked away, Ayame just shrugged. "I'll send the police back when I get out."

* * *

The door to the classroom opened. Ritsu looked up. "Oh, hey, what's up?"

Faster than Ritsu's eye could follow, the gun was raised and aimed at her. Gunshots rang down the school halls as Ritsu died, having put off securing the gun that was now in the killer's possession.


	4. And Then There Were Seven

Ayame ran down the hall, spotting the open window at the end, carrying the rope coiled around her arm. She hopped on one foot, dodging around the wagon and costumes in the middle of the hall. She set the rope down, after much work untangling it from her arm, and picked up the shovel that was leaning up against the wall beside the window. Using the shovel, she scooped up the scorpion sitting on the windowsill and dumped it out the window.

She repeated the process with several spiders and snakes that were still lingering around the hallway near the window. Once she was sure the area was clear of poisonous creatures, she put the shovel down and picked up the rope. She tossed the looped end of the rope out the window at the tree that was only several meters away. The rope didn't catch, but instead fell to the ground. She poked her head out the window to see that the end of the rope had landed on the back of a still figure laying on the ground.

She quietly pulled the rope back up, then promptly dropped it on the ground, stepping back from the window. She no longer wanted to escape that way.

"Ritsu's dead."

Ayame jumped and spun around. "Waa!"

It was Mio. The bassist jumped back, Ayame's reaction surprising her in return. "Aah! Oh... sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you." She took a breath before continuing. "Um... Ritsu's dead."

Ayame shook her head. "What happened?"

Mio shrugged. "I didn't exactly inspect the body, but I think she was shot. Probably with the gun Nodoka had. Me and Mugi were just in the clubroom and we noticed a few things missing." She turned and glanced over at the wagon with the costumes still in it. "Well, I guess that's two items found."

Ayame stepped forward, grabbing Mio's arm and pulling her attention back. "What else was missing from the clubroom?"

Mio blinked absently a few times before realizing that she was supposed to answer. "Ah, a cymbal from the drum set, another dress, and a pair of cat ears. We should also keep an eye out for the poison that was used to kill Nodoka."

Ayame nodded. "Got it. I'll keep an eye out." She quickly picked up the shovel and started off down the hall.

Mio called after her. "Wait, where are you going?"

Ayame turned around, hoisting the shovel over her shoulder and walking backwards. "I'm going to go find the place you guys had your shows when you went here. I'm gonna hide backstage." And with that, she turned and left.

* * *

Sachi ran around a corner and nearly tripped over Azusa. The younger and much shorter girl slammed into Sachi and bounced backwards, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Azusa opened her eyes after the collision and looked up, seeing Sachi towering over her. The tall bassist reached down and offered her hand to Azusa.

"Here, let me help you up." Azusa accepted, and Sachi pulled her to her feet before asking any questions. "Why were you running so fast?"

Azusa laughed somewhat hysterically. "Why was I running? Don't tell me you didn't hear those gunshots. People are shooting at each other! I'm getting the fuck out of here. No, wait, I should go to the clubroom. No, uh... I can hide in a bathroom? That works, right? Or... or how about a broom closet?"

Sachi took Azusa by her shoulders and shook her to get bring her senses back. "Hey, get a hold of yourself! You start panicking and you're as good as dead already. Now... why are you wearing a dress?"

Azusa pulled back, breaking away from Sachi's grip. She scoffed at the older girl. "It's a combat skirt!"

Sachi stared at her silently for a few moments before shaking her head. "No. No it's not."

"...yeah, I don't know why I said that."

Sachi shrugged, looking around. "Could you tell me where you go to play shows and stuff here?"

Azusa pointed down a nearby hallway. "It's down that way."

"Thanks. Where are you gonna go?"

Azusa sighed. "I dunno... Maybe I'll check to see if Jun is in the Jazz club's room." And they parted ways.

* * *

Hammer and nail gun at the ready, Jun spotted someone standing up against a door. She got closer until she could identify who it was. "Mugi-senpai?"

Mugi turned and smiled at her. "Hello, Jun-chan. Can you help me here?"

Jun stepped closer cautiously. "Help you with what?"

Mugi continued to smile. "My hair is stuck in the door, and there's a jellyfish in there."

Jun stopped. "What? A jellyfish? Wait... isn't this Miss Yamanaka's office?"

Mugi nodded. "Yup."

"Why is there a jellyfish in there?"

Mugi shook her head. "Dunno."

Jun stepped back. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Mugi just kept on smiling. "Why would I try to trap anyone?"

Jun threw her arms up in the air. "Why would you? I don't know, maybe because you're the killer? How do I know if you're telling the truth about being stuck, or even about the jellyfish?"

Mugi seemed to take these questions very seriously. "Hmm, oh you're right! I guess if I was you I probably wouldn't help me either..." She started pouting.

Jun rolled her eyes. "Damn it, I can't say no to that face. Here, gimme a second."

A moment later and Mugi was free. She bowed her thanks to Jun. "Thank you very much. I was afraid that jellyfish might touch my hair."

Jun sighed and opened the door to look inside. "Mugi, even if there is a jellyfish and it is close enough to touch your hair, it can't sting you through your hair." She stopped when she saw a stupid-looking lump on the floor, tentacles spread all around. "Oh, wow, there really is a jellyfish... what the fuck? Why is there a jellyfish in Miss Yamanaka's office?" She shook her head. "Anyway, Mugi-senpai, I think it's dead."

When Jun turned around however, there was no Mugi in sight. Not even one.

* * *

Yui and Akira bumped into each other at the top of a flight of stairs. At first, the meeting just consisted of yawning. After a minute or two of leaning on each other and almost falling asleep, Akira straightened up. Yui groaned and tried to cuddle in closer. Akira grabbed her and pushed her away, trying to get away now that she had realized who was leaning on her.

Another figure appeared at the end of the hall. Akira started to shake Yui to wake her up. "Yui, open your eyes! We have to get out of here!"

Yui's response was to start drooling.

The shadowed figure moved closer and threw something at them. The poison bottle hit Akira in the forehead, knocking her out and breaking into pieces. Akira hit the floor, and with nothing to support her, Yui fell down the stairs. She landed in amongst the mousetraps at the bottom of the stairs and setting them all off.

Yui Hirasawa died after falling, asleep, into a pile of mousetraps.


	5. And Then There Were Six

Jun had made her way to the Jazz Club room. She remembered spending a lot of time here during her first two years of high school. Plenty of memories filled the place for her, but they had all been blurred by her far more memorable time in the Light Music Club. Most of those memories were now being blurred out by a terrifying night involving a psycho that wanted to kill her and her friends.

She jumped at the sound of something moving, spinning and firing a few shots from her nail gun. Azusa quickly ducked back outside.

"Holy shit, Jun! Are you trying to kill me?"

Jun lowered the nail gun. "Sorry, you just startled me."

Azusa didn't step back into the room. "Yeah, but are you trying to kill me?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then what are you doing with a nail gun?"

Jun sighed. "Azusa, there's a crazed killer running around. Why wouldn't I have a nail gun?"

"I dunno, maybe so you don't look like the crazed killer yourself?"

"In a situation like this, I'd be far more suspicious of someone who wasn't acting strange. Someone who was acting like everything was fine and normal and wasn't trying to protect themselves would be the one I'd keep my eye on."

"Well then... well, at least put it on the floor. I'm not coming in while you're holding a weapon."

Jun put the nail gun in the corner and stepped away, hiding the hammer behind her back. "Okay, you can come in now."

Azusa stepped into the club room with her hands showing. "I'm unarmed."

Jun narrowed her eyes at her friend. "That makes you suspicious."

"Hiding a hammer behind your back makes you suspicious."

Jun gasped. "How did you know?"

Azusa shrugged. "There's a mirror behind you."

Jun turned to see the mirror. "Shit, you're right." She shrugged and dropped the hammer. "So... wait, what the hell? Why are you wearing a maid outfit and cat ears?"

Azusa froze. "Uh... well, uh... it makes me look less suspicious, right?"

Jun shook her head. "No, not really. Not at all, actually."

"Oh..." Azusa backed towards the door again. "I think I'm gonna... just go now."

* * *

Mio and Mugi passed each other in the hallway, only stopping for a moment to ask where the other was going. Mugi was carrying the shovel Mio had seen Ayame with earlier, which she saw fit to question.

"So, you're going back up to the club room again, and this time you're taking... a shovel? Why?"

Mugi looked to her shovel, then to Mio, then her shovel, then Mio, then her shovel, then Mio, then her shovel, then Mio, then her shovel, then Mio, then her shovel, then Mio.

"Mugi! What the fuck are you doing with the shovel!?"

Mugi snapped out of it. "Ah! Yes, I was, uh... um... I forget."

Mio rolled her eyes. "Okay, how about we try to do this without weapons. Enough people have died as it is, we don't need you going and accidentally bifurcating someone. Just, like, stick it into the ground somewhere."

Mugi nodded. "Okay!" She proceeded to lift the shovel up and stab it into the wooden floor. Several boards that made up the floor splintered and broke, suddenly sticking upwards.

Mio jumped back. "Fuck! Mugi, just... leave it, back away from it, and never come back here. I'm getting out of here before you kill one of us." She turned and quickly left, mumbling to herself. "Besides, I need to make sure Ayame is okay. I think the poem indicated she was next."

* * *

Ayame looked down the rows of seats, her eyes leading her to the stage. It was bigger than any she had played in. "Wow, this is a much nicer school. More elite and bigger than the one I went to, for certain."

Akira's voice suddenly echoed through the large room, coming from the direction of the stage. "Ayame? Is that you?"

Ayame started to jog towards the front. "Akira? What are you doing in here?" When she got the the stage, she saw Akira hanging in the air. She was being held up by a rope that was tied around her hands. Another rope was attached to her feet, stretching her out against a wooden pillar.

The short-haired girl grumbled at her band mate. "Come on, get me down from here. The killer could be back at any moment."

Ayame started to climb up onto the stage, but then stopped. "The killer? How do you know the killer is here?"

Akira looked up at the ropes holding her suspended in midair. "Well, I didn't exactly put myself here, did I?" Ayame just shrugged, so Akira explained. "I ran into Yui at the top of some stairs. The killer showed up and knocked me out with a bottle of poison."

Ayame was understandably skeptical. "Knocked you out with poison? Was it the same poison that killed Nodoka?"

Akira shouted down at her. "I don't know! We don't know what poison that was in the first place! Besides, I didn't really have time to read the label as the bottle was flying towards my face!"

Ayame chuckled. "Oh, so that's how you get knocked out by a bottle of poison. Well, what happened to Yui?"

Akira shook her head. "I don't know. I got knocked out first, and when I woke up I was right here. Could you please let me down?"

Ayame was about to finally set her friend free when Sachi showed up. "Oh, hey girls. Akira, what are you doing up there?"

Akira rolled her eyes. "Practicing my slipknots."

Sachi sighed. "This really isn't the time for something like that. You should wait until there isn't a killer on the loose."

Suddenly, they all heard the clash of a cymbal. Akira screamed. "Sachi, look out!"

Sachi turned and, standing just off to the side of the stage, was a dark figure wearing a mask and holding the missing cymbal from the clubroom. They made to throw the cymbal. Acting faster than she could think, Sachi ran toward the masked killer and tackled them. The brave bassist and the dark killer disappeared into the shadows behind the stage.

Ayame was trying to decide if she should go help, or set Akira free so all three of them could fight the killer together, when she heard a loud scream from the backstage area. The cymbal flew out from the shadows right at her face like a big brass Frisbee. With an audible 'fwip', the flying cymbal buzzed right over her head. A few stray hairs fell to the floor, perishing under the metallic fury. Akira just barely managed to swing herself out of the way. The cymbal hit the wooden pillar behind her, digging in and sticking there.

Ayame turned and saw that she was alright, and gave her a thumbs up. "I need to check and see if Sachi is alright. Be right back." She ran around backstage before Akira could object. Backstage, she found nothing. There was no one there. Almost nothing at all, except for the black mask laying on the floor.

On the stage, however, Akira noticed something disturbing. She was moving upward. She wasn't sure how until she got to the top, where she came face to face with the killer, unmasked. They grabbed the rope at her feet with one hand and chopped the rope at her hands with a knife in the other hand. Akira fell headfirst, screaming all the way as she swung down toward the cymbal.

"Ayame, it's-" Head hit cymbal, and Akira Wada was cut short. Just a little off the top, though. By the time Ayame ran back onto the scene, the killer was running out into the hall and Akira had fallen to the floor. Sachi stumbled out behind her, coughing. Ayame jumped away in fright.

"Holy shit, what the... Where were you?"

Sachi groaned, rubbing the back of her head. "It's really dark back there. You stepped on my leg." She saw Akira. "Aw, shit... At least now I get that stuffed bunny."


	6. And Then There Were Five

Ayame and Sachi ran down the hall toward the door, skidding to a halt just before they reached it. The reason being that someone else was there and had turned their weapon towards the two. Jun stood at the ready with her nail gun.

"Don't come any closer! This thing is loaded! I swear I'll shoot!"

Ayame put her hands in the air. "Don't shoot! We just came to see the poem!"

Jun lowered the nail gun. "Oh, okay. Why do you want to see it?"

Sachi shrugged. "To try and figure out who's next. We want to analyze the poem."

Jun looked over at the poem on the door. "Hmm... I just came here cause I figured, well, it's pretty long so I don't think the killer could have it all memorized. They'd definitely have to come back here and check it over to make sure they're doing things in the right order."

Ayame rolled her eyes. "That's dumb. I mean, I know we forgot what it said, but the killer wrote the thing. They should know what it says."

Jun eyed the two of them. "How do I know you're not the killer. Maybe you're both the killer." The nail gun came back up as she backed away.

Ayame stepped over to the poem. "Whatever. I'm just gonna take a peek and then-" A nail flew past her head, hitting the door. She jumped back. "Woah! Watch it! Put that thing away! Neither of us is the killer! We just saw the killer murder Akira, okay! We're not the killer!"

Taking another step back, Jun paused. "Wait, Akira's dead? What happened?"

Ayame and Sachi exchanged glances. Ayame answered. "She, uh... she fell. Yeah. That's it. She fell."

Seeing that Jun was about to lose it, Sachi reworded it. "The killer had strung her up, then tried to kill us with a cymbal, then dropped Akira and her head hit the cymbal."

Jun went pale. "Say what?"

Ayame bowed her head sorrowfully. "Suffice it to say, there's brains on the stage."

Jun made a disgusted face. "Oh, God... I think I'm gonna be sick." She gagged a bit, then turned and dashed down the hallway, trying to find a restroom.

Sachi and Ayame exchanged glances again, with Sachi breaking the pause. "So where are we on the poem, then?"

Ayame shook her head, turning to leave. "That nail killed my enthusiasm. Catch you later, Sachi."

* * *

Azusa found herself in Miss Yamanaka's office. She had scooped the deceased jellyfish into the trash bin with a shovel she had found out in the hall. As she sat down, she began to feel a presence in the room.

"Azusa."

"God?"

"No, it's me."

"Satan?"

Mio appeared beside her. "It's me, fucktard."

Azusa jumped back. "Holy nifty giblets!"

Mio took a step back as well. "Sorry, I just... Ritsu and Yui are dead."

Azusa lowered her eyes. "Oh no."

Mio continued. "And I'm sorta worried that... I think it might have been me. I mean, I've wanted those two dead so many times. Just last week they were going to paint the walls of my room by hitting a plastic cup filled with paint with a golf club. I just wanted to take the golf club and run them through with it. And now that they're dead, I'm worried that-"

Azusa interrupted. "That your psychopathic thoughts have manifested themselves in an alternate personality whose actions you retain no memory of?"

Mio stopped, thought for a moment, and nodded. "I was thinking I had somehow developed telekinesis, but now that I think about it yours makes way more sense."

Azusa had a little difficulty figuring out if Mio was being serious. "Have you developed telekinesis?"

Mio shrugged. "I dunno. Let's see." She started staring at Azusa very intently, making Azusa uncomfortable. A few seconds passed, tension building, before Mio stopped. "Nope. Guess not."

Azusa put some more distance between the two of them. "What did you just try to do to me?"

Mio waved it off. "Nothing, I... okay, I may have tried to murder you with my mind, but only just a little bit."

"What?!"

"It was just a little."

"Fuck you!" Azusa took serious offense to the attempted mind murder. "You can stay here with the dead jellyfish. I'm getting out of here and away from wannabe murderers like you two." She reached the door and added one last piece before slamming it shut. "Good day to you!"

Mio called after her. "What jellyfish?"

* * *

Mugi was back in the clubroom again. She had shoved Nodoka into the closet, making everything much easier to deal with. Trying to think of a way to pass the time, she had gone through the old box of things belonging to past Music Club bands. There she had found some old cassette tapes. Having located some headphones, she was now listening to, if the tape's label could be trusted, the 1977 effort by a British band that probably was a precursor to the genre Miss Yamanaka's band Death Devil played. It was, all told, quite easy to listen to and rather fun. Long story short, Mugi was dancing to early Judas Priest. That's all.

* * *

Shrouded in shadows, the killer crept through the halls. The next victim stood at the top of the stairs outside the music room, watching the dancing Mugi through the window. She didn't know that she wasn't alone until the rope noose was suddenly around her neck. The struggle went on for almost two full minutes before the victim went limp and was left behind the clubroom door. Jun Suzuki died, choked out just as predicted by the poem.


	7. And Then There Were Four

Mio ran down the hall, stopping in front of the poem. She read down the sinister lines until she came to the spot she was looking for. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh no." She read the line over and over. "It can't be."

Sachi appeared behind her. "What can't be?"

Mio turned around and held her hands out to keep Sachi away. "Don't come close! I might be the killer!"

Sachi was taken aback. "You might be? Why do you think you're the killer?"

Mio waved her arms over her head. "Everything that's happened points to it! I'm the killer! I have to be! If I don't die next, then there's no doubt left for anyone! I have to be the killer!"

Sachi shook her head. "Nah. I don't think you'd be able to kill people without fainting."

Mio was only getting more frantic. "What if I black out and another consciousness takes over my actions! It's still me if it's a split personality!" Without waiting for anything more, she turned and ran down the hallway. "Keep away! I'm deadly!"

* * *

Mugi stared down at the spot on the floor where she had put the shovel. "Why is it gone?"

Azusa stood beside her. "Oh, the shovel? I took it so I could clean up the jellyfish in Miss Yamanaka's office."

Mugi smiled. "Ah! Okay, that makes sense."

Azusa looked down at the hole in the floor. There was several large splinters sticking straight up. She grimaced. "Let's head back up to the clubroom. It's getting really dangerous down here."

Mugi nodded. "Sounds like a great plan. I put Nodoka-chan and Jun-chan in the closet, so it's not so bad up there."

Azusa rolled her eyes. "Glad to see people still respect the dead."

Mugi turned and started off toward the clubroom. "I made sure they were in comfortable positions."

Azusa reluctantly followed. "Oh, that makes it okay."

* * *

Mio and Ayame ran into each other in the halls. Mio stopped the shorter girl before she could get too close. "Don't come near me! I'm the killer!"

Ayame was quick to obey. "Ah, oh... okay. Well, uh... stay here. I'll get a gun." She turned and ran.

Suddenly deciding that she didn't want to get shot, Mio chased after the blond drummer. "Wait, come back here!"

Ayame picked up speed, running away from Mio faster than she had ever run before. The halls sped past her. She skidded around a corner and bolted down the next hall. Mio couldn't stop and turn fast enough, so she crashed into the wall. Ayame didn't look back to see if Mio was alright. She kept running.

A few hallways later, and a few stairways after that, Ayame was still running. She looked behind her for a second to see if Mio was still behind her, but there was no one. Looking ahead again, she saw the killer standing in front of her at the end of the hall. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was.

And her foot landed in the wagon in the middle of the hallway. The wagon rolled back, sending her tumbling forward, right where the hole was left by the shovel. Ayame Yoshida died, hitting the ground and the splinters sticking up from it too hard. Blood pooled around the new corpse, and then there were four.


	8. And Then There Were Three

Mugi opened her eyes, slowly shaking the drowsiness off. She was seated in a wooden chair, in a room of the school she didn't know. Last thing she remembered, she and Azusa were in the clubroom making tea. She went over exactly what happened in her mind. She had served the tea, then gone to prepare some treats. She hadn't gone far, so there was no way anyone had sneaked in, but as soon as she took a sip from her tea she began feeling sleepy.

Movement from in front of her caught her attention, and Mugi soon realized that she was not alone. Peering through the darkness, she saw someone sitting across from her, though it was too dark to tell who. She tried to move, only to realize that she was tied to a chair. Slowly but surely, the reality of the situation settled in.

Mugi had been drugged. She glared across at the shadowy figure. "You... you're the killer."

The other person shifted only slightly, looking up at her accusingly. "Yes, I'm a killer. But so are you, Mugi-senpai." The voice, with shadows covering the face, explained. "After Nodoka's speech, I began to wonder about everyone's photos. Those pictures she gave us in the envelopes. Most people took theirs with them, but you left yours in the clubroom. After the lights went out, I headed to the clubroom. You came and went from there so much these past few hours that I started getting really suspicious. Last time, after you left, I found your incriminating photo on the table. Mugi-senpai, I have to ask. Why did you kill Sumire?"

Mugi closed her eyes and bowed her head, her lips trembling. "I didn't... it was an accident."

"Yes, right, you don't know your own strength. I think that little piece has been played enough. It's time to face facts, Mugi-senpai. You strangled her."

Mugi shook her head. "I was just hugging her!"

The voice shouted across at her. "Damn it, Mugi, take responsibility for your actions! You killed her, and you didn't try to stop!"

Mugi finally got mad, shooting back. "Why don't you try taking responsibility for what you've done? Admit to your murders!"

Leaning forward so that Mugi could see her better, Azusa gave a smug smirk. "Fine. I put poisonous spiders, snakes, and scorpions, a blue-ringed octopus, and a jellyfish in Miss Yamanaka's office to kill her."

Mugi started tearing up at learning of Miss Yamanaka's demise. "Why would you do that?"

Azusa grimaced. "It's just... you don't know what it's like for someone like me having to put up with her all the time. I'm trying to push my band through practice and make everything good for Sumire and Nao next year so they don't have to go through everything I went through, and now... now they'll never be able to because... because you killed poor little Sumire. One of the others killed Nao, I'm sure. I just have to find all the photos Nodoka had..."

Mugi struggled against her bindings a bit. She looked back up to Azusa. "Then what about all the others? What about Yui-chan? And Rit-chan? Why kill them?"

Azusa sat back, moving out of Mugi's sight again. "I've been wondering that myself. Why don't you tell me?"

Mugi gasped. "What? You think I'm the killer?"

"You think I am." Azusa's voice was spiteful. "You're the one who served me the tea that knocked me out."

Mugi shook her head. "But I'd never-"

"Never what? Kill someone?"

Slumping back into her chair, defeated, Mugi sighed. Her eyes fluttered open at the tickling of one of her senses. The smell had been there the whole time, but she hadn't paid it any mind. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure what it was she was smelling. It wasn't something she had smelled very often. Looking around her, she realized also how dark it was and how Azusa likely couldn't see her well either.

Azusa's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Anyway... what is this that I'm drenched in? Did you poor tea all over me? Oh, god, it smells awful. Nope, that's not tea."

Mugi started rocking her chair back and forth, trying to see if she could break free. Her feet hit something on the floor in front of her. "What? What's this?"

Azusa leaned forward again. "Wait, you're tied up too? ...can you kick it over here? I think I can pick it up with my feet and get a better look at it." Mugi kicked it with precision, sending it right over to Azusa. The younger girl picked it up with her feet and lifted it. Unable to get it close enough to see, she straightened out her legs to hold it closer to Mugi. "Can you see it?"

Mugi leaned forward as much as she could, squinting to see through the dark. "It looks like... some sort of container."

Azusa made something of a strangled cough. "I can't hold it up much longer. I think it's slipping. What color is it?"

"Maybe... red or orange?"

The object dropped to the floor with a hollow plastic thud. Azusa put her legs down. "Well... I guess I figured out what smells so bad. ...and why I'm all soaked. I think that's a gas can."

Mugi was silent for several seconds. Then, a burst of determination fueling her, she started rocking her chair again. "Don't worry, Azusa-chan! I'll get us out of here!"

"Mugi-senpai..."

"I'll save you, Azusa-chan!"

"How will knocking over your chair help us escape?"

"It's okay! I get super strong when I'm angry or hurt!"

"What?"

Mugi's chair fell back, slamming against the floor. Her head hit the wooden boards with a loud crack. In the same moment, Azusa heard footsteps running towards them, getting closer with each step. Mugi had stopped moving, probably having knocked herself out cold. Azusa shouted to whoever was in the hall.

"Help! Somebody! Help!" The sound of a door rattling, obviously locked, met her ears. A moment later, the door was kicked open. Azusa shouted for joy when she saw who it was. "Mio-senpai!"

When the door hit the wall, it set off a carefully placed charge that sent a small flame quickly along a trail of gasoline. In moments, Azusa was lit up. Thus, sweet Azusa Nakano was made to burn. And then there were three.


	9. And Then There Were Two

Sachi sat at the side of the hall. She had no idea where anyone else was. In her hands, she held the poem that she had pulled off of the door. She was reading over it again and again to see if she could trace the steps back to the beginning of the night. Some things weren't adding up.

She read the lines carefully, crossing off who she thought died for each line. "The first one can't have been Nodoka... no, the killer was responsible for all the deaths, right? So how did... I think that must have been Ui outside. She was leaving, so that makes sense. Let's see... Yui and Ritsu... either one could be either one. They both put things off and sleep a lot. Akira was definitely the one this line refers to, and Jun's the only one who choked. I think Ayame must be the one who hit hard, and Azusa is definitely the burned one."

She went silent for a moment, trying to decipher the meaning behind it all. What was next?

"Revenge? Who would want revenge on someone else?" Unable to puzzle out the answer, she got up and headed back to the clubroom. There were only two others left, and the killer was still unidentified.

* * *

Mugi woke up, sitting up straight. She looked around to find herself in the clubroom. Getting up, she walked over to the table and sat down. Mio was seated across from her, staring blankly at the space where Ton-chan's tank used to be. Mugi tried to think of something to say, but she could tell what was wrong.

Mio finally sighed. "Azusa is dead. There was a charge of some sort attached to the door, and when it hit the wall it was set off. It caught her on fire, and I couldn't save her. I... caused her death." She started shaking uncontrollably. "Now I know I'm the killer."

Mugi reached across the table and put her hand on Mio's shoulder. "No, you can't be the killer, Mio."

Mio shook her head. "What do you know?" She looked down at her lap, then held up something that had been hidden. She set the gun on the table between them, not taking her hand off of it. "I found this on you, Mugi. You told me you didn't know where Nodoka's gun went, yet here it is."

Mugi sat back, taking in the accusation against her. "I see. So what you're saying is that as far as you're concerned, if I don't accept that you're the killer..."

Mio finished, glad she had caught on. "Then you're as good as admitting your own guilt."

They watched each other for a time, each trying to determine what the other was thinking. What plan was running through their mind. Neither moved, as neither was yet certain that they believed what was being presented. Slowly, enough that Mugi didn't realize it, Mio raised her hand and aimed the gun at her friend's head.

It took a few moments to register before Mugi responded. "Mio-chan, what are you doing?"

Mio wasn't looking at her. She couldn't. "I have to pull the trigger. Either I'm the killer or you are, and either way I have to pull the trigger."

Mugi nodded. "Okay, I understand."

Mio looked at her in surprise, her finger drawing back from the trigger. "What?"

Mugi shoved the table, quickly pinning Mio against the wall and causing her to lose her grip on the gun. It slid off the table and onto the floor beside Mio. Instead of going after it, Mugi shoved at the table again before turning and heading for the door. Fighting through the sudden pain, Mio reached down and grabbed the gun, aiming back up at Mugi's back. Mugi opened the door and stepped to the side just as Mio pulled the trigger. The shot did not hit Mugi.

Sachi stumbled forward a step before collapsing to her knees. The front of her shirt slowly turned red. Mio's eyes were fixed on her fellow bassist in horror. The tall girl made a choking sound before falling face down and going still. Mio let out a choked gasp, trying to grasp the reality of what she had just done.

Movement caught Mio's eye. She looked up at Mugi who was now standing beside her, the shovel in her hands. Mugi smiled, but said nothing. She just raised the shovel and brought it down on Mio's hand, making her drop the gun. Mio pulled her hand back to herself, cradling what now felt crippled.

Mugi pulled the shovel back, as if to spear Mio with it. "It's been fun, Mio-chan, but now it's time to end this. I've had my revenge, so now we're done."


	10. And Then There Was One

_"Three little kittens, a killer still loose. One got revenge, and then there were two."_

Mugi wiped her hands clean of blood on Mio's shirt. The bassist's eyes were glazed over in death, the shovel sticking out of her forehead. Allowing herself a little laugh, Mugi reached up and... the takuan were removed.

Now, standing in the silent clubroom, Sumire Saito stood among the wreckage of the Light Music Club. "Now you all see how foolish you all were. They thought they could just leave me here like this. And you and your band were going to let them! Everyone who ever betrayed me has now paid the price! My revenge is complete!"

She pulled the video projector out from under Ton-chan's tank and began to work at destroying the recording of her dancing around with headphones. Everything was set up perfectly. The only thing that could point to her being guilty now was... she ate the takuan. Thinking back, she had worried at first when she had killed poor Mugi. Hiding the dumb blond had been easy, but she couldn't think of any way to escape suspicion until she thought about the eyebrows. The takuan worked like a charm, and now everyone who had thought she was Mugi was dead, so the takuan was finished its job.

"Two little kittens, the killer not yet done. One took a left, and then there was one."

Sumire turned around suddenly, shocked at hearing the words being spoken. No one was supposed to still be alive. "Who's there? Who said that?" A fist hit Sumire's knee. She fell onto her side, crying out in pain. Blinking away unwanted tears, she saw her assailant standing over her. "What? No! But I saw you die!"

Sachi stood over the killer now at her mercy. "You saw me get shot. Fuck you, by the way." Sachi reached down and picked Sumire up by the front of her shirt, lifting her off the ground. The bassist's height became an asset as she lifted the younger girl up to her eye level, leaving her feet dangling.

Sumire's face drained of blood. "But my plan was perfect! You couldn't have survived it! Not when no one else did!"

Sachi just stared into her eyes. "There's just one thing I don't understand. How could you have known the scorpion would end up on the windowsill and scare Ui enough to make her fall?"

In spite of herself, Sumire found herself beginning to laugh. "You're quite the fool, aren't you? You really think I did all of this? I can't even write sappy song lyrics. How do you think I could write such a scary poem."

Sachi's eyes went wide. "Wait. You mean to tell me..."

Sumire nodded. "That's right."

"The scorpion wrote the poem?"

"Uhh... no?"

Sachi shook her violently. "Then what the fuck are you saying?!"

Regaining her senses, Sumire tried to explain. "Everything. The scorpion, the shovel, the wagon, the poison, the rope, the gasoline and the charge, and even the mouse traps. The entire night and the plan to go with it. The riddle itself. It was all carried out by me, but if you want the architect you need only take a good look out the window."

Sachi turned her head to look at the nearby window. "Hmm..."

Sumire rolled her eyes. "I meant the window with the scorpion. Damn it, I mean Ui. She planned it all out."

Looking back to Sumire, Sachi growled. "And her own death was part of that plan?"

Sumire shrugged. "She was going to college on the other side of the world. If you had spent any amount of time with her you'd know how much she likes being with her sister. The distance was too much for her, but she's happier this way because now they'll be together forever."

Sachi shook her head. "Whatever. Enough of this bullshit." Sachi started walking to the window.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sumire felt a panic rising inside her.

"I'm ending this for good."

"Wait, but... no! Stop! Wait!"

Sachi threw Sumire through the window, sending her smashing through the glass and frame. She fell screaming to the ground, the fall punctuated by a thud. Sachi leaned out the broken window, looking down at the dead killer.

Sachi took out a pair of sunglasses, putting them on as she quoted the poem. "One kitten remains, still standing tall. The killer, it seemed, had died last of all." She turned and walked away, the one remaining, standing taller at the end of the night than any of the others had at the beginning. She paused. "Wait, does that make me immortal?"


	11. Dance On The Pyre

I'm only in the way  
Got nothing good to say  
No I am not okay  
I'm coming down with judgement day

Like a pack of wild dogs  
We've got rust in our cogs  
They say we all need something  
Like a technicolor god

I've been processing thoughts  
Found that doing this rocks  
The effects of the night  
You can see them for blocks

Under the moonlight  
And I'm stoking the fire  
These ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre

You call these hard times  
When you're nothing but liars  
I got ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre

So swing your beat down  
Got me dug in the ground  
When you hear the drum roll  
Then you know you've been found

You'd better watch out  
Let me hear you all shout  
Got you trapped in yourselves  
No clue what this game's about

Under the moonlight  
And I'm stoking the fire  
These ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre

You call these hard times  
When you're nothing but liars  
I got ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre

I can see you all drown  
In the poison you down  
It's my midnight spree  
Set you up for defeat

There's no back door  
You're begging for more  
Now you take the fall  
And I shoot from the hall

It's the curtain call  
I'm the symbol of death  
Come to end it all  
And to take your last breath

Strike till you're dead  
Put a spoke through your head  
The butler didn't do it  
It's the maid who brought the lead

Separate you  
Turn you into a corpse  
Because I hate you  
And I have no remorse

Under the moonlight  
And I'm stoking the fire  
These ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre

You call these hard times  
When you're nothing but liars  
I got ten little kittens  
Gonna dance on the pyre


End file.
